Xref: utzoo comp.edu:1586 sci.math:5148 sci.physics:5191
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Student and Course Integrity  (was Rising cost of textbooks)
Message-ID: <6426@killer.DALLAS.TX.US>
Date: 14 Dec 88 07:24:59 GMT
References: <605@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU>
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 31

in article <605@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU>, dross@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU (david ross) says:
> Xref: killer comp.edu:1714 sci.math:5070 sci.physics:5285
> In article <6388@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green) writes:
> Many of my students do work hours that conflict with my office hours; I
> try to accomodate them as much as possible.  However, if a student
> needs help, can't make my scheduled office hours, can't work out an alternate
> time convenient to us both for outside help, then does badly in class, 
> I feel sad but not sorry for the student: he or she has clearly made some
> prioritizing decision, in which math lost out, and must accept the
> consequences.

I have to somewhat agree... if a student is having trouble, he needs
to meet with the professor, and most professors will be glad to set up
a time with the student. I was just pointing out that if Professor X
sets up extended office hours after an exam on which people did badly,
and few show up, it doesn't necessarily mean that everybody is
apathetic. For one thing, it's hard to set up an appointment
immediately following such a bummer test -- the professor was probably
MOBBED immediately after the class, by students asking questions,
wondering why problem XYZ was graded this way and not that, etc.

However, conflicting office hours do mean that a student who is doing
OK but has a few questions will probably never come by... call it the
Law of Student Inertia, sort of like the Law of Shareware Inertia
which dictates that shareware authors never get their money because
the users procrastinate forever on sending it ;-).

--
Eric Lee Green    ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg
          Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509              
 >> 			In Hell they run VMS.
 >No.  In Hell, they run MS-DOS.  And you only get 256k.